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Keep in mind, one of the points of a contest like this is to see how well people do under pressure. The number of folks who can meet deadlines when everything is calm and normal is much larger than the number who can deliver things of high quality, on time, while their spouses are sick, their cars get flat tires, and their day-jobs demand overtime. The ability to overcome these challenges is a big part of being a successful (and beloved) freelancer, and it's one of the things we're looking for in an RPG Superstar finalist. A map in three days, done on lunch breaks and evenings and sleepless nights while washing dishes with one hand and dialing a plumber with your toes, is par for the course for professional game designers.

Too true. And to add to this:

In the publishing world there are often extremely tight deadlines centered around specific events, milestones, and other factors (conventions, holiday shopping seasons, prime release schedules factored out by the marketing departments). Niches need to be filled, copy needs to be written, and the content needs to be in so that all of the other departments can move forward. Doing freelance literary editing has taught me that there is very little leeway in your time table. You get it done and get more work, or you don't...and you don't. Part-timers and the occasional contractor are held to the same standards. In fact those just starting are held to higher, more rigorous standards than the pros. Everyone and their brother wants a freelance contract. Those that distinguish themselves by cracking down and getting it done are the ones that get work.

It reminds me of the general advice given to starting literary copy editors: promise the impossible...and deliver it. Can you turn around a 300 pg. manuscript by the end of the week? Yes you can. You edit that thing while you're brushing your teeth, at a stop light, at lunch, whenever you have a spare moment. And in the end it looks good on you and you're more likely to get the next project.

If I make it to the next round, I'm sure going to wish that I had more than three days, but I'll forgo sleep if I need to. Part of the that test is making sure the winner will deliver the final module on time. It may be relatively little for them to put RPGSS on (though I imagine there are some costs involved with web setup, monitoring, man hours ect), in the end they're investing in the winner to produce a product.

Honestly I think it's the hardest part for a lot of people, myself included. You have to say so much with so few words.

I find that being a fiction content editor gives me certain biases. In the beginning I was all for interesting uses of Dimension Door, wind-theme items, and earthbreakers. The farther along I go in voting and the more I see countless entries in these categories, my cliche/overuse filter turns on and I get borderline angry when I see them. Granted, there are a few good ones and I up-vote those when I see them, but I'm much more likely to vote for the other item in protest.

The title is often a tiebreaker. If it doesn't catch you, try again.

Perhaps the single most discerning characteristic for me is the writing. If there's a wall of text that has this that and the other thing, I'm more likely to up-vote the simpler, more streamlined item. Description is important as well. And conciseness is your friend. There's one particular item that I down-vote every. single. time. because the description is so overwritten that I can't get past the first two sentences. I't might be a decent item, but I never made it that far. The overwrought text doomed it for me.

Mine did. I'm feeling pretty energized...and nervous about the prospect of advancing.

First RPG Superstar entry and I made it past the cull! Nice.

For me I looked at it from a foundational level. As spells are often a primary component of magical items, I combed the texts for interesting spells and abilities then generated ideas based on how that those elements might manifest in items.

This allowed me to branch out my thinking and generate a number of ideas from one spell rather than generating an idea for a single items and then finding spells to make it work.

Probably not the most original, but it worked for me.

I'm interested to see what people think of mine. It's my first year of actually submitting something (rather than just frantically scribbling vague ideas then throwing them away) so I'm not expecting much. But I'm hopeful!

I agree with the comments that the name needs to be changed. Real-world, proper place names don't belong in this setting. It's like creating a location and naming it the Pentagon.

Hoarfrost, as a hunter, works in this scenario. I have no problem with it being an urban encounter for him. However, I do not see him as a lackey. If some dude said, "I'm going to hire you to hunt and kill some people. If you fail me i'll kill you." I think Hoarfrost would rage and try to tear the guys throat out on the spot. His shtick is being an ideal hunter. He's not going to stand for being talked down to or hired to handle some other's business. Then it's just a job.

That's my take on it at least.

I'm going to start off by saying that I love, LOVE, the concept of this. The mixing of genres (but not too much so as to retain the original feel) in my opinion, adds new and bold elements into a campaign. It's a great way to subtly breath a little variety into what can easily turn into a stale trope. Adding a bit of sci-fi into a fantasy setting lends itself more to the "holy crap what's is going on here" than if it was a simple fantasy environment. Though the characters are just as likely to claim magic as a default.

Here, John adds a slight tinge of sci-fi while retaining the nomenclature more in line with fantasy, "altar" for control panel, "fire cannon" for laser, ect. The characters don't know any better, or shouldn't. It would just be poor roleplaying otherwise.

I agree with the judges that some of the elements of the back story could use some shoring up. If the head was so well known, someone would have gotten that gem already - or stripped the entire area clean.

I see it more of a lost pyramid similar to mayan structures overtaken by the jungle. Part of the adventure for the party would be to simply find it. In this case, the idea of the party getting there before the villain makes more sense, especially if he's ghosting them. There could be a struggle to get inside first with Voracek knowing how to use the cannons already.

I don't want to overdo it here so I'll say the core theme is sound. With a little story tweaking and shoring up of some of the vaguer aspects, this would be one kick ass adventure. A lot of I feel would be addressed in a second round of editing after comments by the senior editorial staff. I applaud everyone who participated in the RPG Superstar, especially those that made it to the later rounds. Balancing the demands of something like RPG Superstar with the rigors of everyday life is often difficult.

Business wise, it could prove to tempt those who lean more toward sci-fi to get into the game, showing them that it's not necessarily so rigidly fantasy.

I like it. It's bold, ballsy, and inventive, and as much as I like and appreciate fantasy, the infusion of a bit of genre bending is exciting (hell, we have gunslingers now!).

In the previous round, Hoarfrost was one of my favorites. He had feral drive, cunning, and a fondness for pushing the limits of his skills to hunt a most dangerous prey. That said, while I think certain aspects of the encounter work in this theme (the ice and planted bear traps), the overall idea of the encounter is flawed.

I for one picture Hoarfrost as more of a wanderer in the wastes. He would have a lair, yes, but he wouldn't be dependent on it and certainly would not leave it so open to the world. Part of the ability for animals to survive is for their burrows, nests, ect to be protected, most effectively by being hidden. A character so in tune with his feral nature would understand this, and one that would go so far as to hunt adventurers would not be so brazen and arrogant to leave his lair open and relatively lightly protected. He wouldn't have made it to level 7 if that was the case.

That said, I think the scene that is set and the idea is great. If the lair didn't feature, or at least the Worgs weren't hiding there, and the elevation was exploited more (I feel Hoarfrost should be harrying the party with attacks from the ridge while they're engaged with the Worgs)then it would work better. At the very least, more traps like deadfalls, rockslides, and such. I'd play it, but make it more brutal.

I'm new to these boards so bear with me. I figure if I'm going lurk around looking at people's entries like a voyeur, I should at least participate (especially if I plan to submit in subsequent competitions ;)).

Anyway, I've looked over a good number of the submitted archetypes and this is the first one that really resonated with me. Not that I didn't enjoy the others - the First World Druid was an interesting concept, and the Hound master Cavalier was a cool spin on troop inspiration - but the Saboteur seems to me to be one of the most viable in a general setting.

I admit that the abilities are a bit limiting; outside of the context of a large-scale battle or siege scenario, it loses a bit of flare, but the flavor and the abilities give the archetype a reasonable amount of use outside of such milieus. An improved sunder archetype? Yes, thank you. A trap maker and device handler that isn't bound by the conventions of the rogue class? Done. While the Ranger may be many's secondary class for this, it makes perfect sense. Hardcore Delta Force style behind-enemy-lines sabotage? Ranger all the way.

The last ability could use some clarification and perhaps a bit of tweaking to make it a more viable and useful to a general game setting, but overall the archetype is flavorful, exciting, and interesting. I might actually play a Ranger for once.

This one gets my vote.